Today in the Department of Defense, Friday, February 18, 2011

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn have no public or media events on their schedules.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen hosts an honor cordon to welcome French Chief of Defense Staff Adm. Edouard Guillard to the Pentagon today at 12:45 p.m. EST.  The cordon will be held on the steps of the Pentagon River Entrance.  Journalists without a Pentagon building pass will be picked up at the Pentagon River Parking Entrance only.  Plan to arrive no later than 30 minutes prior to the event; have proof of affiliation and two forms of photo identification.  Please call 703-697-5131 for escort to the cordon.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz will attend the 6th Annual Stars and Stripes Military Tribute at the BEYA Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Global Competitiveness Conference at 7 p.m. EST.  BEYA point of contact is Miller Roberts at 410-244-7101 x124.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead delivers remarks at 8:30 p.m. EST at the Black Engineer of the Year Awards Stars and Stripes Dinner at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C.  Media interested in attending should contact LT. Laura Stegherr at 571-499-3123.

German Army Maj. Gen. Hans Werner Fritz, RC-N Commander will brief the media live from Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan, at 10:30 a.m. EST in the Pentagon Briefing Room (2E973) to provide an update on current operations.  Journalists without a Pentagon building pass will be picked up at the River Entrance only.  Plan to arrive no later than 45 minutes prior to the event; have proof of affiliation and two forms of photo identification.  Please call 703-697-5131 for escort into the building.

A National Capital Region Flyover of Arlington National Cemetery occurs at 1:05 p.m. EST with two T-6's.